The Voice for the St. Louis Construction Industry

Partnership Represents Over 300 Years of Collective Real Estate Experience

Gershman Commercial Real Estate and BurkHill Real Estate LLC have partnered to acquire Sachs Properties’ prominent 860,000-square-foot real estate portfolio in Chesterfield. Gershman and BurkHill’s total investment in the properties will exceed $100 million, which includes the purchase price and planned capital improvements.

The 18-property portfolio, conveniently clustered around the intersection of Highway 64/40 and Clarkson Boulevard, includes 13 multi-tenant office buildings, four retail properties and one industrial/warehouse facility. The portfolio of properties, which are home to over 160 tenants, has an overall occupancy rate of more than 90%.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a very recognizable, well-located property from another well-known St. Louis real estate family,” said Tom Stern, executive chairman of Gershman Commercial Real Estate, which, like Sachs, is a local family owned real estate firm. “There are a lot of cultural similarities between the Gershman and Sachs entities that made this transaction a great fit above and beyond the value of these significant properties.”

Gershman began discussions with representatives of the Sachs family more than two years ago about the possibility of acquiring the portfolio of commercial properties that the late Louis Sachs, founder of Sachs Properties, began developing more than 50 years ago and which remain a cornerstone of the Chesterfield business community.

Based upon the scale of the acquisition, Gershman was seeking an equity partner for the deal and wanted to work with an equity partner that shared their long-term investment outlook. “It was critical for us to partner with someone that shared our vision for these assets,” said Stern.

Ultimately, Gershman teamed up with BurkHill, the private real estate investment fund founded by local real estate veteran Mark Burkhart. Burkhart, the former CEO of Cassidy Turley, launched BurkHill’s first fund in 2016 to invest in real estate assets.

“This deal represents one of the largest real estate transactions in St. Louis in recent history,” Burkhart said. “BurkHill diligently seeks real estate assets that fit our strict investment criteria. We have been very patient in search of the right investment and this iconic property meets our high standards. Gershman’s long history of success in operating similar assets, coupled with our experience, is a great combination.”

As part of the transaction, many of the employees of Sachs Properties will be transitioning to the Gershman team.

“The decision to sell these assets was very difficult but this transaction was as close to a win-win for everyone as we felt we could have achieved,” said the Sachs family. “We felt Gershman was the ideal partner to best honor the legacy of Sachs Properties both for our employees and our tenants and we’re very happy they were able to partner with another local firm in BurkHill.”

The Sachs family continues to control more than 150 acres of land around Chesterfield Village, which could be prime sites for future developments.

Gershman and BurkHill plan to make significant investments in the newly acquired properties, including capital improvements, design upgrades and amenity enhancements. Those plans will be unveiled in the very near future.

“This has been a long process and we’re very excited to reposition these properties in the marketplace,” said Chris Fox, executive vice president and managing director of brokerage and advisory services for Gershman. Fox will oversee the Gershman team providing ongoing leasing for the Chesterfield Village properties. “We pride ourselves in providing a very hands-on level of service and intend to bring that same approach to this portfolio. We have a great management and accounting team as well, many of which have a long history with these properties through Sachs, and intend to keep most of that day to day team located in Chesterfield within the portfolio.”

Gershman is the largest locally owned commercial real estate firm in the St. Louis metro area and currently manages close to six million square feet of commercial space. Gershman made the investment through its subsidiary, Gershman Commercial Equities.

BurkHill’s investment came though BurkHill Real Estate Fund I. “With the successful placement of Fund I, we are very excited to plan for the future and continued investment,” said Burkhart.

Gershman and BurkHill plan to rebrand the properties as the Offices at Chesterfield Village.

Established in 1948, Gershman Commercial Real Estate is the largest locally owned commercial real estate firm in the St. Louis, Missouri, metro area. It provides unparalleled service and support during all stages of a commercial real estate transaction. The company’s current management portfolio exceeds six million square feet of office, retail, industrial and multi-family space, inclusive of 175+ properties and over 1,100 tenants, located throughout the St. Louis metropolitan market.

BurkHill Real Estate Investors is a private real estate investment fund founded by industry veteran Mark Burkhart. The fund invests in retail, industrial, office and multi-family real estate assets, with a minimal asset size of $1 million. BurkHill establishes short- and long-term strategies for each asset and oversees the property management and leasing terms to ensure the strategy is being properly implemented.